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Friday, October 10, 2014

BLOG TOUR FATE: NEW AVALON, BOOK 2 BY AUTHOR ANDREA BUGINSKY

Fate: New Avalon, book 2

by Andrea Buginsky

Available Now

Elena
Baxter’s second year at New Avalon may be more challenging than her first. The
demons she was warned about show up, a visitor who greatly affects her arrives,
and her best friend, Izzy, has to deal with her painful past. Can Elena survive
everything that’s coming at her at once? Or will the future Lady of the Lake
take on more than she can possibly handle?

Excerpt:

In
Alchemy the next day, Elena could tell Izzy was still distracted. She never did
that well mixing the potions, but she was getting better studying with Elena.
Today, however, everything she mixed kept exploding. Elena knew she was still
preoccupied with their conversation from the other night.

“Damn!”
Izzy coughed as her third attempt to mix the potion exploded in her face.

Elena
ran to her side. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,
I’m fine.”

The
rest of the class rushed over to make sure everything was OK.

“You
alright, Izzy?”

“Yeah,
Mia. Just ticked. I can’t get this to work right! Lady Bittle, what am I doing
wrong?”

Lady
Bittle sifted through the ashes in Izzy’s cauldron. “I don’t think you used the
right amount of herbs. Remember, you need to be very careful when tossing each
one in. You don’t want to add too much or too little of any herb.”

“I
know that! I’m a third-year. I’ve been mixing potions for over two years now. I
know I’m not the best at it, but this is ridiculous!”

“Izzy,
is everything OK? You know you’re powers are linked to your emotions, and you
seem to be in overdrive right now. Perhaps you should stop for the day. I’ll
still give you full credit for your attempts.”

Izzy
looked like she was about to explode. But a scream from Elena broke her out of
her anger.

“What
hurts, Sweetie?” Mia tried to calm her down, but they were all freaking out
over Elena’s outburst.

“My
head! It feels like it’s going to explode.”

Lady
Bittle rushed to her and took her by the elbow. “I’m going to take her to Isabel.
The rest of you can use the remaining class time to work on your own potions,
if you’d like. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“Wait!
I want to go with her.”

“No,
Izzy, that’s not a good idea. You’ll see her later, back in your room.”

She
led Elena out of the classroom and down the hall to Isabel’s office.

Isabel
was waiting for them. She sensed something was wrong, as she always did, and
helped Lady Bittle carry Elena to the couch in her office. She gently caressed
Elena’s head, her eyes closed, her lips moving.

Finally,
Elena calmed down enough and took a deep breath. “What was that?”

“Tell
me everything that happened.”

Elena
told Isabel about Izzy’s trouble in class and her outburst. “I know she’s been
upset lately, but I’ve never seen her like this. She just became infuriated,
like she was about to explode!”

“And
then you felt like your head was exploding?”

Elena
looked at her, shocked. “Yeah, how did you know that?”

Isabel
sighed. “Lady Bittle, I’ve got this now. Thank you for bringing her to me. Will
you return to the classroom and let the other girls know Elena is just fine?”

Lady
Bittle nodded, touching Elena gently on her shoulder. She left her in Isabel’s
capable hands and returned to her class.

Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer with a BA in Mass
Communication-Journalism from the University of South Florida. She has always
wanted to be a published writer, and decided to try to write children's fantasy
books. The Chosen is her first book, and was released on December
14, 2010, to her delight.

Andrea has written three more books since:

My Open Heart, an autobiography of
growing up with heart disease.

Nature's Unbalance: The Chosen, Book 2

Destiny: New Avalon, book 1,
a YA fantasy

She is currently editing the third book of The Chosen series, and writing the
fourth.

Andrea lives in Kansas with her family, which includes her two precious
puppies.

Elena Baxter’s second year at New Avalon may be more
challenging than her first. The demons she was warned about show up, a visitor
who greatly affects her arrives, and her best friend, Izzy, has to deal with
her painful past. Can Elena survive everything that’s coming at her at once? Or
will the future Lady of the Lake take on more than she can possibly handle?

Book title:

Fate: New Avalon,
book 2.

Current book or
project you’re working on:

The Chosen, book
4.

What moment or
event sparked the inspiration for your novel?

This is the second book in the New Avalon series. The idea came to me during NaNoWriMo several
years ago. I loved the TV movie Mysts of
Avalon, and wanted to write a story about the Lady of the Lake, bringing
her into the current time somehow. I wanted to create a group of teenage girls,
too, so I came up with the idea of the Avolonians, New Avalon, and the
descendants of the Lady of the Lake.

Please share
three flaws or complexities about the characters in your book.

1) They’re
uncertain of themselves.

2) They’re
uncertain of each other.

3) Because
their powers are linked to their emotions, they are constantly battling to keep
them under control, something very hard for a teenage girl to do.

Which if any
characters in your current novel are based on someone you know?

Elena has many of my own personality traits. Izzy has some
traits of my best friend.

Are there any
characters in your book that remind you of yourself?

Elena.

If you could pick
any famous author to review your book who would you pick and why?

J.K. Rowling. She is my favourite author, and I would love
to hear her opinion of my books.

Genre/Author/Reader
and the process:

What genre and
age group does your book fall into?

YA Fantasy.

Have you read any
books that have inspired you to improve or change yourself in any way?

When I was younger, Judy Blume books influenced me a lot.
Stories where the heroin isn’t always the normal heroin you would expect is
what inspires me. I create my main characters with this trait.

Which three
authors have inspired you the most, and why?

1) J.K.
Rowling because she wrote a fabulous series that readers of every age love.

2)Rick
Riordan because he took a very popular story theme from ancient history and
made it his own, as well as bringing it into the present.

3)Danielle
Steel because she is a wonderful writer.

How many books
have you written?

Six: Five are published, one is being edited. I have also
started writing my seventh.

Which book is
your favourite and why?

My Open Heart. This
is a story I have wanted to write and share for a long time.

What is your
favourite and least favourite part of writing dialogue?

My favourite part is displaying the characters’ individual
personalities through their dialogue. My least favourite is deciding what they
should say.

Name three things
that you know now that you wish you knew when you first began writing.

1)To
eliminate helping verbs

2)How to
“show” not “tell”

3)To
take notes for future books in the series

Are there any stories
in your heart & mind that you have not yet written but you dream to write
about in the future?

Not at this time.

What have you
learned from editors?

How to “show” not “tell,” how to write better dialogue,
how to keep my tenses in sync.

What is the most
important thing you’ve learned, either in the self-publishing or traditional
publisher, route?

That you have to keep plugging away no matter what. You
learn more with each book, and you bring that knowledge into your new books.

What part of the
writing process do you enjoy the most?

Reading my draft for the first time. I’m often amazed at
what I wrote.

When you write
which do you prefer: handwritten, computer, laptop, or typewriter? Are notes,
notebooks, or bulletin boards part of your process?

I have to write on my computer. I use notebooks for my
series with separate sections on characters, places, storylines, and research.

What are your
thoughts about the decline of the printed novel?

I’m on board with eBooks. I love that I can have 100s, if
not more, books on one device, with me anywhere I go.

Do you have any
ideas for your book and Hollywood? Actors, directors, music.

Yes, I’ve put together my dream cast for The Chosen, and picked a couple of
actors for key players in New Avalon.

The Chosen

Halli - Natalie Portman

Silvorhawk - Chris Hemsworth

Striker - Sam Worthington

Kaidyla - Zoe Saldana

Lumina - Abigail Breslin

Redsham - Robbie Coltrane

New Avalon

Elena - Vanessa Marano

Isabelle - Isabella Rosselini

Which book to
movie conversion is your favourite?

It’s a tie between Harry
Potter and Twilight

What is your
favourite non-fiction book?

On Writing by
Stephen King

What marketing
strategies would you recommend to a new author?

Set up a website with a blog.

Set up a Facebook and Twitter account.

Post to all three of these regularly.

Do you know the
ending of your books before you finish writing them?

No.

How do you think
reading has benefited your writing?

It has given me ideas for my stories, and shown me how to
write stories.

Do you study
science, the planets, history, or anything special to help you with your writing?

Magical things and Arthurian History.

What, who, and
when, first inspired you to write?

I’ve enjoyed writing since I was a kid, but I guess
reading Danielle Steel novels and then the Harry
Potter series stirred up the need to write my own books.

Personal info:

Favourite:

Drink –Arnold
Palmer (iced tea/lemonade mix)

Food –Pasta
and seafood

Vacation –Disney!!!

TV show –Gray’s Anatomy, Mistresses, Switched at
Birth, Dallas, Once Upon a Time… Too many, lol.

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About Me

I am a mother, a sister, an author, a cat, dog, and pet lover and most of all a lover of life who is thankful for all my blessings. I find myself in a place many consider to be "midlife". I see this time as new beginnings and new opportunities! No matter where you are in your life, NEVER GIVE UP!